Beau Reus made two penalty saves as heroic Hearts overcame Tomas Magnusson’s red card to pull off a stunning shootout victory away to Rapid Vienna and book themselves a return to the Conference League main phase.
Following a 2-2 draw in the first leg at Tynecastle, the Gorgie side’s European journey looked to be fizzling out when they were reduced to ten men in the 75th minute of the play-off round second leg while trailing to Ercan Kara’s first-half goal.
But substitute Landry Kabore equalised a few minutes later before Calvin Miller volleyed Hearts ahead in the tenth minute of extra-time, only for Rapid to hit back in the 119th minute and make it 4-4 on aggregate.
Incredibly, Hearts rediscovered their poise to edge the shootout 4-3 and secure their most significant result in Europe for more than two decades, meaning they will compete in the Conference League for the third time in five seasons.
Head coach Wouter Vrancken hailed his side’s mental strength after they kept their cool to prevail on penalties.
‘Amazing, amazing,’ said Vrancken. ‘When you see the game, we played a really bad first half. We had a game plan, and we didn’t follow up, we didn’t show the guts to follow up.
Hearts players celebrate in front of the travelling supporters after stunning Rapid Vienna
‘We were already pretty angry at half-time, and we came out, we did much better. We took the game in our hands, we were dominant at that moment.
‘This is already a mental strength, coming back on 1-0 down and coming back like this.
‘I think they have to learn that they’re a good team, that they’re good players, that they can show it and show the guts every time, every week, every game again.
‘The development of the team, the progress of the team, is amazing. The team spirit, I saw it from the first session.
‘Coming together and all those new things, they went into it, they want to learn it. They wanted to have feedback, they want to go into it and the kind of football we played. This is the result, they get rewarded, and I’m so happy for them.
‘And I think we can make more steps in the coming weeks and hope that we can take the steps as soon as possible, but the work ethic that the players put into it, I’m really proud to work with this group.’
Hero Hearts goalkeeper Beau Reus pulls off a fantastic shoot-out save to help his side advance
Hearts suffered a blow in the 15th minute when Tom Renaud was carried off after Rapid attacker Petter Dahl fell awkwardly on his leg while being fouled by Jordi Altena.
Magnusson replaced the Frenchman but Hearts were struggling to get a foothold as the Austrians looked the likelier side.
The breakthrough came in the 34th minute when the hosts worked their way into the box and Yusuf Demir’s low shot from the right took a nick off Oisin McEntee and broke kindly to the unmarked Kara, who slotted into the empty net from the edge of the six-yard box.
Hearts were almost handed a way back into it when Braga seized on a loose pass but the Portuguese striker was unable to set himself perfectly and his angled shot from inside the box was beaten away by Niklas Hedl.
Demir curled just wide from distance, then Kara fired over from the edge of the box as the visitors continued to live dangerously .
Hearts enjoyed a spell of pressure towards the end of the half, with Josh McPake and McEntee threatening with shots from outside the box.
The Jambos continued building their way into the game after the break, with captain Blair Spittal volleying just wide from 20 yards out before Wilson and Braga both spurned opportunities.
Magnusson then sent a close-range header wide from a Spittal free-kick but the Icelandic midfielder’s night was cut short when he was shown a second yellow card for a trip on Jannes Horn in the 76th minute.
Jamie McCart and Oisin McEntee go wild at full-time as Hearts celebrate a famous victory
The ten men drew level within three minutes, however, as substitute Kabore adjusted his body and chested Spittal’s corner into the net at the near post.
Remarkably Hearts went ahead in the 100th minute when Miller volleyed in a cross from substitute Rogers Mato.
But just as the depleted visitors looked like hanging on, Nenad Cvetkovic knocked in Moulaye Haidara’s cross in the 119th minute to force penalties.
Miller, Altena, Mato and Sabah Kerjota all netted from the spot for Hearts, with McEntee the only Jambo to miss, as Reus saved two Rapid kicks to emerge as the hero.
